In 2014, the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, which helps people with disabilities find work and live independently, ran a deficit of $4.9 million. According to a September audit from the state Legislative Auditor General, the agency failed to monitor its growing budget, leaving funding for important programs unsustainable.
Randy is a student with a disability who attends Utah State University and is part of the USOR’s vocational rehabilitation program. Due to the program’s requirements that those with disabilities focus solely on school, Randy is dependent on the program’s funding for everything from tuition to living expenses. He said that the funding shortfall came as a surprise.
“We knew there would be some changes occurring at the beginning of the summer as far as coverage,” he said. “What I was not informed of was the extent of how drastically coverage would be cut and the process we’d have to go to try and reinstate getting many expenses paid for.”
During the 2015 general legislative session, the USOR asked the state legislature for additional funding but was denied. Students like Randy were left with few options. With only a couple of weeks before classes began, he said he had to seek recourse through legal action.
“It was hard knowing where to turn to, immediately. I ended up talking to one of my close friends and she told me about the Disability Law Center,” he said. “She informed me, based upon my specific situation and circumstances, that by speaking with them that it was very likely we would be able to put together a good case and win back much of the funding.”
Mismanagement of the budget by the USOR could mean a fine from the federal government totaling up to $6 million.
